


Broken Wings

by Levis_Brat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-06 02:21:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levis_Brat/pseuds/Levis_Brat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College Au. Eren is an Economics student at Rose University. Struggling to come to terms with his past, he meets Levi, a mysterious yet captivating senior. Then everything begins to change. Eren begins to question the way he has lived his life so far and sets on a journey to find himself, with the help of Levi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Glance

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there you wonderful ereri shippers ! My friend's and mine collaborative fanfiction .We’ve never written anything before and we thought to give it a try :P English is not our first language so please excuse any mistakes.Please comment if you like it or tell us what we can do to improve it in the next chapters ! Thank you and I hope enjoy it !

 

Chapter 1: First Glance

_“Next station: Trost”._

 

The cold robotic voice shook Eren from his daily daydream of human eating titans and selfless soldiers who bravely defend humanity. His imagination had started galloping again and there was no stopping it. He knew there was no use in trying to suppress it. Actually, he never really tried. It was his only escape from reality, his haven, the only place where no one could judge him.

With a sigh he stood up, adjusted the strap of his messenger bag and stepped out into reality. He looked at his watch, knowing he was already five minutes late. Again. He could almost hear Professor Pixis’s nagging about the responsibilities of being an adult. This was Rose University after all.

“ _Fuck”_ , he muttered under his breath. His stomach was already complaining, but he quickened his step ignoring it. He usually ate breakfast with Mikasa, but since she had gotten that scholarship to Sina University, she didn’t have enough time to stick around. He was happy for her, of course. Not just anybody could get into Sina Uni, let alone with a full scholarship. He just couldn’t help missing her.

Ever since his mother died, Mikasa was taking care of him. She wasn’t even his real sister and did a much better job than his father, if you can call him that. Not that he had any reason to complain. He never experienced any form of abuse and as far as material things go, he was never short of anything. But the gap his mother left was never filled. The saddest thing is that his father never even tried. He always worked and returned home drunk and even when he was sober, he would avoid Eren’s eyes, as if his son’s gaze would blind him. And that was something Eren never really understood.

 

* * *

 

_“Are you sure you’re gonna be alright on your own? I can always say no to them and go to Rose University with you. They have a nice law department. That would be-”_

  
_“No!” he didn’t even let Mikasa finish. “You worked really hard for this and there is nobody in the world who deserves this more than you”._

_“Jee, Eren. When did you fall for that sentimental crap?”, she half joked. Eren although could see the relief his words brought. “It’s all those manga you’re reading. They’re turning you into a sappy little girl”._

_“Why? Are you jealous?”, he asked as his grin spread across his face_

_“You wish”, she said adjusting the red scarf he had given her for her birthday ten years ago. Strangely, she never took it off and Eren couldn’t deny that he kind of liked it. “It’s not me who’s crying over two anime dudes who were threatened by a swarm of bees. What was that even all about? I mean what the fuck Eren. Bees? Seriously?”._

_He could already feel his face turning red from embarrassment. “Shut up! It’s one of my favourites!”, his voice muffled by the pillow he used to cover his blush. “Leave me alone already!”._

_He could hear Mikasa’s laugh as she retreated towards her room. That was the thing he loved about her. He could just be himself around her, knowing that she would always accept him. It was only two years ago that he had introduced to her his boyfriend at the time and she was completely cool with it. She was more that he could ever ask for._

 

* * *

Eren half-jogged through the campus, passed the pond manoeuvring through the ducks- _who the fuck builds a pond in the middle of a campus!?_ \- and finally reached the Economics building. Taking a big breath to collect himself, he opened the door only to find the drunkard-that’s Professor Pixis for you- standing right in front of him.

“Well. If it isn’t Mr. Jaeger. Finally decided to grace us with your presence?”

Eren didn’t say anything and started walking toward his usual seat in the back, thankful for not listening to Mikasa’s constant yapping to cut his hair, or else the drunkard would have seen his eyes roll and that couldn’t have possibly ended well.

The class was boring as usual. The symbols on the board still didn’t make any sense to him, even after an excruciating two-hour study session with Armin. His eyes wandered around the class to gaze at the half-dead students who were desperately tried to keep up with Pr. Pixis’s incorrigible lecture. _Does anyone really understand what that cheap Freddy Mercury cosplayer is talking about?,_ he thought. His hand was subconsciously doodling on his notebook, completely unaware of his surroundings.

  
That was when he saw them. Those cold, apathetic eyes. He couldn’t put his finger on the exact colour. They looked like the sky just before a thunderstorm. Calm, yet dangerous. They weren’t pointed in his direction, but the intensity of their gaze was something that Eren could definitely feel. He tore his eyes away to look upon the rest of the stranger’s face. He wasn’t pretty, you wouldn’t call him that. His cheekbones were high, emphasising on his narrowed eyes. His jaw was clenched and you could tell from his demeanour that he wasn’t quite the talker. Eren shamelessly took his time to appreciate the stranger’s cryptic face that captivated him. He didn’t realize he was staring until those cold eyes turned to look into his. The normal thing would be to look away, but Eren couldn’t bring himself to do that. He could swear that he had seen a flick of surprise in those eyes, as if no one ever dared to hold his gaze that long, but that quickly faded into a clear hostility.   
  
A tap on his shoulder broke the spell. It was Sasha, Eren’s annoyingly cheerful co-worker, informing him that he had to work an extra shift tonight. _Great, just fucking great._ He turned to steal another glimpse at the stranger, only to realise that he was already gone. Confused he looked around, finding himself in a deserted classroom.


	2. The doughnut incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there wonderful ereri shippers! We want to thank you for your support. It means the world to us that you read our fic and liked it. This chapter turned out much bigger that the original plan, but we hope you like it too. We promise there will be more Levi in the next chapter. We’ll also try to update more often and hope to finish our fic before our exams start. Thanks again for the support!!

Chapter 2 :The doughnut incident

  
“So… if you blew hard into a tetrahedron with flexible faces, you could round it off into a sphere, so in that sense, a sphere can be cut into four faces, six edges and four vertices. And we see that V – E + F = 2. …”. Armin’s calm voice echoed through the room, as he wrote the equation on his notebook in a desperate attempt to make him understand. For the fifth time, but no one was counting.

“...Same holds for a pyramid with five faces — four triangular, and one square — eight edges and five vertices…”. His voice was slowly fading as his eyes trailed over his friend’s notebook, only to see it covered in random sketches, mostly a pair of dark eyes that seemed to be staring right back at him. They were actually starting to make him rather uncomfortable.   
  
“Um… Eren? Are you listening?”, he asked slowly.   
  
“Mmm…”, was all he got in response. Eren’s eyes were fixed to the paper in front of him, but they seemed to be looking beyond it, at something else.  
  
“You know…”, he started, eyeing his friend that seemed to be lost in his own devises. “I was thinking lately of getting a tattoo”.

“Mmm…”.

“A little unicorn… On my left buttcheek”.  
  
“Mmm…”.  
  
“Cause... you know… I like the pain…”.

“Mmm…”.

“I fucked Mikasa last night, while you were sleeping”. _That should do it_ , he thought triumphantly.   
  
Eren’s horrified jolt was priceless. “What the fuck, Armin?!”, he almost shouted “W-wait, hold on… I thought you were gay?”. His voice swayed between a question and a statement.   
  
“H-huh? W-what… No! I mean… H-how did you know?”. His voice raised an octave, while his face changed at least fifty shades of red, as his joke backfired at him. Eren found it rather comical.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t notice? Really?”. He sat with his arms crossed and a huge smirk on his face, his voice was painted with the faintest hint of irony. “I’ve known you since forever”. In contrast to his voice, his eyes were softened with such affection that Armin couldn’t help the smile of relief that slowly spread across his friend’s face.

Eren had been meaning to address the topic for some time now, but he hadn’t had the chance until now. It wasn’t a big deal, not for him anyway. The thing he wanted to make clear was that Armin would always have his support and love, no matter what happened. The feeling of not being accepted was not unfamiliar to him anyway. He never wanted his family to feel that way and Armin was family to him.    

He never liked to put labels on people. Everyone was different and should be treated equally. Why did people always have to force others into categories? What was this obsession with labels and names? Gay, straight, black, white, christian, atheist… So many of them! Who gave a fuck?     

“Thank you”. Armin’s voice was barely audible through his sigh. He cleared his throat and added with a much more confident voice, “My sexual orientation is hardly an excuse to avoid studying. Nice try though”.

“Oh well, you can’t blame a man for trying”, Eren groaned as he picked up his pencil once again. Although Armin dismissed the subject so easily, he knew that it was no trivial matter for him. The tip barely touched the paper when Armin asked:

“What in the world are those eyes that you’re drawing anyway? Obsessed much?” He inspected Eren’s work with his big blue eyes.

“Hey! Give that back!”, he exclaimed as he snatched the notebook from his friend’s hands. “Mind your own business! Thieving bastard”, he murmured, flipping the page.

Armin sighed, deciding not to pursue the matter further, suspecting that there was definitely something fishy behind Eren’s behaviour. “Okaaay then”. He looked around the messy room, wondering how a single person could possibly make such a huge mess in so tiny a room. “By the way, I’m assuming you’re coming over to Jean’s tonight, right?”.

“That was today? Ugh!”

“Come on Eren! Don’t be like that! Jean’s a really cool guy. Besides, we’ve been planning this for weeks!”.

“I never said he wasn’t. But I don’t know… Ever since he got together with Marco one minute they’ll be talking and then the other they’ll be making out right next to you! It’s kind of disturbing”, he said letting out a frustrated sigh. “...I’m just not in the mood to watch them be all lovey-dovey”.

Armin was about to comment on the fact that Eren sounded almost jealous, but decided against it. You never knew with Eren… He stood up after collecting his stuff and headed towards the bedroom door. “Eren…” Armin started one last time.   
  
_There we go again…_ Eren thought recognising the familiar tone in his friend’s voice and knowing beforehand what would follow.   
  
“It will be fun and...”, he hesitated, “you should go out more, you know. You are spending too much time on your own… Life is more than staying in, sketching and avoiding human interaction as much as possible”.   
  
“Fine, fine! You are starting to sound awfully like Mikasa! I have enough of that coming from her. I can’t have you too!”. Eren opened his worn sketchbook, indicating the end of the discussion.

“Sooo... I’ll see you there then”.

“Kay”, Eren waved him off bent over his art, lost once again in his own universe. With an eye roll, Armin exited the room.

 

* * *

 

“Maaaan, who put a stick up your ass?! Loosen up a bit!”, Connie’s reeking-of-alcohol breath tickled Eren’s ear and made him want to throw up the delicious lasagna Mikasa had cooked for dinner.

“That’s probably because no one is sticking anything up there…” Jean teased, not being entirely sober himself, “or probably never did”, he added with a smirk.  
  
Eren finally managed to free himself from Connie’s headlock and, biting his tongue to hold his comebacks, headed to the nearest couch. _At least my ass isn’t damaged beyond repair like yours_ , he thought viciously. Taking a deep breath, he sat down and tried to calm his anger with no particular success. Just go to your happy place. That’s what his mother always told him. Only as the years passed, Eren found it more and more difficult to find it.   
  
He didn’t really mind fighting with Jean. It had almost became their everyday thing by now, but he knew that getting into fight no matter what the reason was something that upsetted Mikasa and only got him into more trouble. So he tried his best to avoid them as much as possible, although he never did a great job at that.   
  
“What? Not even a snappy comeback? Nothing? Come on, you are better than that,  Jeager”. Jean kept pushing it definitely looking for fight, as always, despite Marco’s desperate attempts to ease the tension between them.

“Just… go make out or something with your boyfriend and leave me alone, will you? I’m not in the mood...”.

“Whatever Jaeger. Stay here and feel sorry for yourself. At least your mother is dead and she can’t see the mess you’re turning into”.

“JEAN!”. Marco’s voice sounded at least two tones higher than usual. Everyone in the room gasped and waited for Eren’s upcoming outburst.

“What the fuck did you just say, horseface?”, Eren hissed through his teeth, slowly rising up from his seat. His pupils were dilated and the turquoise of his eyes was barely visible. His fists clenched so tight that he could later see the marks his fingernails had left to the flesh of his hands. “You can say whatever the fuck you want about me, but don’t you ever, ever bring my mother into your stupid arguments, you hear me, you fucking asshole?”

Armin rushed to Eren’s side and tried to calm him down, but Eren’s mind was too clouded from anger to even hear Armin’s words. He effortlessly shoved him aside and threw himself at Jean. His punch in the jaw was hard enough to make Jean lose his balance and stumble backwards. Soon enough, Jean recollected himself and was about to fight back, when he felt Marco’s hands around his waist, holding him back and turning him away from Eren.

“Come on, Jean. Let it go already. You’ve said enough”. His voice brought a change to his boyfriend’s face. His features softened and letting out a sigh, he faced away from Eren. “You should also apologise. What you said was really harsh”. Marco’s calming voice was more than enough to make Jean comply. He could never say no to him and he certainly wouldn’t start now.   
  
”Fine”, Jean muttered through clenched teeth. He took a deep breath and-   
  
“I don’t want your stupid apology!”, Eren shouted, his breathing heavy.

“Eren!”, Armin cried. He didn’t have time to reach him, because Eren strided towards the hall and exited the house, slamming the door behind him.

“What the hell’s wrong with you, Jean? You went too far this time!”, Connie said as soon as Eren left, suddenly much more sober than he was a minute ago. “You know how Eren feels about his mom and you go and say that to his face? You are so thick sometimes!”.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, just leave me alone, you can lecture me in the morning, I’m too drunk for this shit”.

Out of nowhere, Sasha walked in the room with her mouth stuffed with God knows how many potatoes and looked around curiously.

“Did I mif somthig?”.  

 

* * *

 

Eren pulled his hood further down to block the November chill. His pace quickened with every step, not caring where his footsteps were taking him. He just wanted to be alone, disappear from the face of the world. Jean was right. He was a mess, but he didn’t need that horseface to remind him. Things like the loss of his mother, his absent father, being in a university he didn’t even understand, let alone like, were exactly the ones that made him want to drift away from reality.

With every passing day his urge to get lost in his own ideal world, the one that he had complete control over, was even greater. That world he designed was without pain, misfortune, misery… death. But its most important feature was that it was imaginary. Ever since he was little his mother would call him a dreamer, her eyes not condescending, but filled with tenderness. That world was the only thing that kept him sane when his mother passed. That world and Mikasa.

A loud horn shook Eren from his thoughts and he barely had time to step aside as a car drove past him. He looked around and, not recognising his surroundings, he groaned and decided to follow the course he had taken before, hoping it would lead him back home.

He instantly regretted his decision to return so early. The smell of alcohol was so strong that it almost burned his nose. _He’s home early today_ , Eren thought bitterly. That was why he chose to go home later than he wished to. With a loud sigh he closed the door softly and entered the living room.

Sprawled across the couch, his father was snoring noisily. Eren stood for a moment to inspect him and wondered how a person like that could once have been a successful geneticist. No matter what he said, he loved his father. That’s why it pained him even more to see him like that. He took off his father’s shoes, picked up the empty beer cans from the floor and headed toward his bedroom.

He stopped outside Mikasa’s room and peered through the door. He saw Mikasa sleeping with her head buried in her textbooks. _Always the hard worker,_ he chuckled as he approached her.

“Mikasa… Mikasa, wake up. You’re sleeping on your desk. Again”, he said softly.

“Mmm… Eren. You’re back”, she said sleepily.

“Yes. Come on, let’s get you to bed”. He lifted her and set her down on her bed, tucking her inside the covers.

“Did you have fun?”.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. Now sleep, okay?”. But she was already asleep. He smiled lazily and kissed her forehead before exiting the room.

 

* * *

 

The next day was as boring day as usual. Eren somehow managed to pull it through, while making his best to avoid Jean. Thankfully today he worked the night shift at his work, so wouldn’t have to worry about his father. He worked at a little coffee shop, where nothing unexpected ever happened. It wasn’t a difficult job, it didn’t require any special qualifications. Even he could do it.

He arrived at Sonny ‘n Bean’s Cafe fifteen minutes early. He opened the door and heard the familiar ring of the bell above him.

“Eren! You’re early!”. Sasha’s loud voice echoed through the almost empty shop, causing the few customers to turn their heads and stare at her.

“I regret it already”, Eren teased.

“Oooh, come on Eren! I know you love me.”, she said winking.

“Do we have to fight for Sasha’s hand now, Eren?”. He heard Connie’s voice from behind him.

“Don’t worry, Connie. She’s all yours”, he chuckled. He liked hanging out with those two, because even though they were a couple, they didn’t make things awkward for the rest of them, like the horseface and Marco.

“Hey, Eren… Do you mind if I leave a bit earlier, now that you’re here? Pretty please?”, Sasha asked, giving him the best puppy eyes she could master.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind waiting for you to finish”.

“Just steal her away”, Eren said waving them off, having already his apron on.

“I know you were the best!”, squealed Sasha at Eren’s ear. She kissed him hastily on the cheek before throwing her apron oh his head.

“See ya!”, they cried in unison and left the shop hand-in-hand.

“See ya”, he muttered under his breath, getting ready for another boring day at work.

 

 

* * *

 

Just another half hour, he thought impatiently. His shift seemed to last forever and Eren couldn’t wait to go home to finish his sketches of that pair eyes that were engraved in his memory.   _Who the hell drinks coffee at eleven o'clock at night?_ The coffee shop was deserted except for an elderly couple that was sitting in the corner. A bouquet of roses was placed on the table, while the couple was taking their time drinking their tea. Eren, given their behaviour, suspected it was their anniversary, but that was no excuse for being out so late. _Aren’t old people supposed to sleep early?_ , he thought lazily.  
  
He decided to clean the espresso machine for the third time that night in order to kill the little time he had left. He was standing with his back at the entrance when he heard the bell, indicating that a new customer had entered the shop. _Are you fucking kidding me right now?_ He turned around and opened his mouth to tell the customer that he was about to close for the night, only to shut it again the moment he lifted his eyes on the newcomer. The stranger had sat on the far corner of the now empty coffee shop. His hood was on so that it hid his face from Eren’s view.   
  
Eren bit his lip, not knowing if he should approach the stranger or not. He couldn’t deny that he was a bit scared. He could tell that the man was not here for coffee. Those worries though quickly disappeared as he heard a hiss of pain coming from the stranger. _Was he hurt?_ Without a second thought Eren hurried at the staff room, grabbing the first thing that came into his view. He hurried outside and stood awkwardly for what it seemed like a decade before starting to walk towards the stranger.  
   
He decided to clear his throat to get the man’s attention. Only he couldn’t summon his courage to do so. He just stood there, next to the stranger, waiting.

“The fuck you looking at, brat? I doubt you’re being paid for this”. The stranger’s voice was deep and hoarse, as if he had been yelling. Eren had started to regret his decision to help him. _Maybe I should just leave him alone._ But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Lost once again in his thoughts, Eren didn’t notice a very familiar pair of cold eyes looking up at him.

“What? Are you deaf or something?”, his voice sounded uninterested, almost eager to get rid of him.

Eren felt his cheeks hotten and tossed the thing he had grabbed from the staff room on the table.

“C-cold… You..s-should umm..put it..on y-you know”. He couldn’t even make coherent sentences.”Umm..you sound hurt so…. I thought I…”

“You thought you could play doctor, huh?”

“N-N-No! I’m sorry… I will leave you alone”. He hurried away from the stranger and retreated to the counter.

“Tch! What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?”. He scratched his head with a deep sigh, letting his hood fall back down on his shoulders. In his hand was a bag of frozen doughnuts.

“It’s-”. Eren didn’t have time to finish his sentence. His eyes fell on the stranger’s face and he just stood there, gaping at him. It was him, the guy from the auditorium. The guy whose eyes he had been drawing for the past week. Why was he acting like that ? He didn’t even know the guy! _Eren stop being such a weirdo!_

Eren let himself observed the guy, he was curious after all. He was wearing black skinny jeans tucked into black Dr Martens. On top of that, a band t-shirt was visible under a jacket so thin it couldn’t possibly protect him from the cold. Eren was pleased to notice that he was familiar with the band on his t-shirt. Joy Division were one of his favourites. He had straight black hair that placed his face evenly. When he turned, Eren noted that it was an undercut. _Who even had his hair cut that way nowadays?_

“Oi brat, hasn’t anyone told you that staring is rude?”. He hadn’t noticed the man turning to him again, the doughnut bug in his hands.

“S-Sorry! It’s the first thing that I found in the staff room that was cold”, he explained pointing at the bag.

The stranger turned his head down again and Eren could have sworn he had caught a glimpse of a smile, as he placed the frozen doughnut bag on his right eye, where a dark bruise had already started to form.

Several minutes passed without either one speaking or attempting to start a conversation. That was until a mug of boiling hot tea was placed in front of the stranger.

“I thought you could use something warm”, Eren said softly.

“I didn’t order this. And I’m not carrying any money”.

“Don’t worry. On the house”.

The man eyed the cup carefully before taking a sip. “Thanks”, he mumbled.

They didn’t talk for a little while, each lost in their own thoughts. Eren retreated to his counter, in order to leave the guy enjoy his tea in peace. Suddenly looked at the clock and realised that he should have closed the shop seventeen minutes ago.    
  
“You’re weird”. The man’s voice shook him from his reverie.   
  
Eren didn’t answer, not knowing what to say. He just waited for the man to elaborate

“Are you always so unguarded around people?”, he continued, pausing to take another sip from the tea. He seemed to enjoy it. “I mean, you haven’t even asked me my name”.  
  
“Well...”, Eren hesitated. “You haven’t asked for mine either”.

“That’s because it’s written on your nametag, dumbass”, the stranger said with an amused look on his face.

Eren’s face became tomato red and with groan he covered it with his hands. That way, he didn’t notice the stranger approaching him.

“Anyway”, said the guy as he leaned closer to the counter, “don’t be so quick to trust people from now on. Especially those who seem to come from a fight”.

“Thats because you’re so little you look like a little girl”.   
  
“Who did you call little, kid?”, he said with narrowed eyes, his tone not as hostile as it was before.

“No one in particular”. Eren’s teasy tone surprised him, but choose not to comment on it.

He just shook his head, placing the now empty mug on the counter and looking right into Erens eyes. “Thanks for the tea...”, he paused a little as a small playful smirk appear on his face, “Eren”.

And with that, he exited the coffee shop as if nothing had happened.


	3. Walking through the fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi helps Eren cheat on a test and Mikasa seems to know more about Levi than Eren himself.

 

Beep beep!

  
The constant ringing of his alarm clock shook Eren from his peaceful sleep, reminding him of the start of another monotonous day.

“Ugh! Shut up!”, he groaned reaching forward with his hand and almost smashing it with his fist to make it stop. With a yawn he turned over and tried to resumed his sleep.    
  
Beep beep!

“For fuck’s sake, SHUT UP ALREADY!”. He buried his head in his pillow, trying his best to ignore the constant ringing.

Beep beep!

“Ugh!” With a frustrated sigh he turned again, cracking his eyes open to look at the time.  
  
8:55.  

“Shit shit shit shit!”. He quickly jumped from his bed, throwing his covers on the floor, and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later, after he had made himself at least presentable so that nobody could suspect he had spent most of the previous night killing zombies online, he entered the kitchen for a quick breakfast.

9:13

 _Fuck!_ He quickly opened the cupboard and prepared a toast. He turned to leave, but came across a note from Mikasa, informing him that she would drop by his university when his lessons ended to have lunch together. That brought a smile on his face. He barely had time to hang out with her anymore, so eating together seemed like a good opportunity to catch up. He grabbed his messenger bag and, toast on his mouth, exited the house.

Thankfully the train station was just three blocks away, not that it would make him any less late. At least he would try. He jogged all the way and barely got in the train before the doors closed. Score!    
  
The wagon was nearly empty, so he sat on his usual seat beside the window. His headphones effectively blocked the outside world. Sleepily he leaned his head on the window and not a minute had passed before he was getting lost in his thoughts once more. Same as last night his mind would only focus on one thing. He replayed last night’s incident over and over in his head, recalling the stranger's face in his mind, especially his eyes. Of course once he had gotten home he had gone through his sketches and realized that they were nothing in comparison… He had tried to sleep, but the tension that had built up only kept him up. Around three in morning he gave up and he decided to keep his mind busy with some video games. That did the trick, but in result he ended up getting less than an hour of sleep.

His eyes wandered outside and only then did he notice that it had started to rain. He was getting close to his stop now, so he stood up and waited for the train to arrive. He pulled his hood on, exited the wagon and sprinted across the campus. His clothes were only half soaked when he reached the auditorium. Luckily for him, the class hadn’t started yet, so he swiftly sat in the back, not bothering to look around. It was only when professor Keith walked into the class with a pack of papers in his hands that he realized that it wasn’t going to be a good day. Not at all.  
  
“Something smells here. Now is it a test, is it a toast, I can’t quite put my finger on it..”. Keith’s sense of humour never failed to make students stare at him in mild confusion. How did this man manage to become a professor was beyond their imagination. Eren just wanted to bang his head on the desk.  
  
Twenty minutes later and the paper in front of him was still in the same condition in which he had received it; blank. He scratched his head, letting out a defeated sigh and looked around him only to find very familiar face staring right at him with a raised eyebrow in amusement.   
  
“Given up already, brat?”, he heard him whisper.

Eren just shrugged, trying his best not to blush any harder. Why was he blushing in the first place? He didn’t even know his name for god’s sake!  
  
Unamused the guy just shook his head, turning away from Eren and started writing. He didn’t seem like the guy that would know the answers, especially on a french test. But then again, Eren wasn’t the type to judge a book from its cover. He turned and stole a glimpse at the guy. His black hair fell on his face and the angle in which he was sitting was emphasising his undercut. He tucked a strand of it behind his ear and Eren noticed two black hooks on its upper part.  Feeling the professor’s eyes on him he quickly turned his head on his paper again.   
  
Not ten seconds later he made up his mind to just give up. It wasn’t like the answers would fly into his head. Suddenly, he felt something hard hit his head and let out a small yelp. He looked down on his desk to find out what had hit him. _What the…? A rubber?_

He looked around expecting to find Sasha or maybe Connie laugh at his very manly yelp when he noticed the black haired guy smirking at him and pointing at down with his finger. Eren frowning, looked at his finger’s direction and saw a neatly folded piece of paper on the floor. He shoot him a questionable look and got a wink in return. The blush on Eren’s cheeks was undeniable. On his eyebrow above his now black eye, Eren noticed a small black hook that he hadn’t noticed last night. He couldn't deny that he secretly liked it. He bend down and picked it up. When he unfolded the paper his eyes widened in realization that he now had all the test’s answers written in front of him. He turned again to the guy in amazement, but he wasn’t even looking in his direction.

“Ten minutes everybody!”.

Without wasting any more minutes, he started copying the answers. When the time came to turn his paper in, he couldn’t help but smile triumphantly. As he was leaving, his eye fell on the guy’s desk, but to his surprise, the paper on it was blank except for a name at the top of the page.  
  
Levi.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day passed without any other unexpected encounters. Thankfully, the rain had reduced to a small drizzle. Eren was sitting on a bench near the entrance of the university waiting for his foster sister when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He could feel the heat growing on his cheeks, expecting a certain pair of grey eyes. He turned around, coming face to face with Marco and an awkward looking Jean. _Oh, great..._  
  
“What is it, Eren?”, Jean spoke first, not able to resist commenting on Eren’s disappointed look. “What’s with that face?”.

“What do you want?”.

“Well… Jean has something he would like to say to you”. Marco answered warily, looking back and forth from Eren to his boyfriend.

“I’m sorry okay? I was drunk and I went too far. Just yell at me or punch me or whatever and we’re even. Deal?”. Jean was fiddling with Marco’s fingers, avoiding Eren’s eyes.

Now that Eren could think clearly without the alcohol and anger clouding his judgement, he realised that it wasn’t fair for neither of them to get worked up over a few drunken words. It happened way too often between them. The resemblance in their strong personalities was the main source of conflict. Sure, bringing Eren’s mother into the argument had crossed the line, but it was obvious that Jean didn’t mean it. Despite their fights and arguments, they took care of each other, in their own way.

“I don’t need to punch you. Your face is already messed up”, Eren replied, the playfulness in his tone evident. Jean only smiled, glad to know that things were back at normal.

“Eren!”. Mikasa’s voice filled his ears. He turned and saw her approach. “Sorry I’m late. The traffic was terrible”. She finally reached him and turned to greet Jean and Marco.

While those three were exchanging their news, Eren glanced around the campus hoping to see him. Levi. He had to thank him, right? But it seemed like he was nowhere to be found.

“-ren. Earth to Eren”. Mikasa was waving her hand in front of his face. He turned to her and found out that Jean and Marco had already left, leaving his foster sister staring at him with her wide eyes. Damn! He was doing it again.

“Sorry, I just... spaced out again I guess”. Mikasa looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Come on, let’s go and I’ll tell you about it”. He tugged her red scarf, just like he did when they were younger, and they started walking together.

* * *

 

“Just decide already, It’s not that hard…”, Eren let out a frustrated sigh looking expectantly at Mikasa. His stomach was complaining and his patience had run out long ago.  
  
She just shrugged and took her time going through the menu.   
  
“Miiiikasa…”, he complained again, leaning against the table.  
  
“Stop being such a brat, Eren”. She said, her eyes never leaving the menu.  
  
“Don’t call me that!”, her brother’s reaction was instant, making her quirk her eyebrow. She opened her mouth to ask why, but he Eren cut her short. “Just… don’t”.   
  
Eren was saved by the petite blonde waitress who came with their drinks. She got their orders and asked them if they would like anything else.

“We’re fine. Thank you…”, said Mikasa narrowing her eyes to look at her nametag, “...Christa”. She flashed them a bright smile and retreated to the kitchen.

As soon as she left, Mikasa’s attention was once again focused on Eren.

“So. Spit it out”. Her voice was teasy. “Who is he? What’s his name? Age? Blood type? Insurance number?”.

Eren choked on his water, bursting into a coughing fit. His face was twice as red, and not only from his desperate efforts to breathe.  
  
 _Priceless_ , Mikasa thought while giggling hysterically. She took out her mobile phone and snapped a photo. Oh, how adorable her brother could be! “I just found my new wallpaper”.

Eren finally managed to ease his breathing and dried the tears that had escaped from his eyes. “W-What are you talking about?”.

“Come on, Eren. I know that look”. Her tone turned to a more comforting one. “I can tell there’s someone on your mind”.

“Is it that obvious?”

“No, just to me”.

Eren took a deep breath, feeling relieved that he hadn’t made a fool of himself, and started from the beginning.

By the time he had finished talking, their meal was long gone and Mikasa was trying her best to suppress her smile. It wasn’t every day that Eren found someone who caught his eye. All his past relationships, if you could call them that, ended within a month or two. They either didn’t have the patience to deal with Eren’s sudden mood swings or Eren just got bored along the way. Most of the time they would complain about Eren’s lack intimacy towards them. There was something missing and Eren couldn't find out what it was.

“Sounds like somebody’s got a crush…”. Eren didn’t have to look at Mikasa to see her smirk. He could almost hear it.

“It’s not like that. I don’t even know the guy”. Eren was quick to deny it. Honestly, he didn’t like the idea of crushing on a total stranger. He wasn’t that kind of guy. “Anyway… we’ve been talking about me the whole time. It’s your turn”.   
  
Her brother’s attempt to change the topic didn’t go unnoticed by Mikasa, but she decided to let it go. “Ahh! European law is killing me!”. Eren just chuckled and let her rant on about the hardships of being a law student.

That took most of their evening and by the time they had finished their usual dessert, chocolate cheesecake with extra blueberries, the sun had already gone down. Eren took care of the check while Mikasa excused herself to the bathroom and decided to wait for her outside.

He sat on an empty bench just outside the restaurant and took a look around lazily. The streets were rather empty for a Friday afternoon . That was when he spotted a very familiar figure leaning against the wall of the building right across the street. _Levi_. He seemed to be talking on the phone. Biting his lip and after a moment or two of internal dilemma, he made up his mind to talk to him and at least thank him for earlier.   
  
He got up from the bench after making sure that Mikasa wasn’t already out, he made his way to him. _Was he always that short?_ he couldn’t help but wonder as he approached him. Not that he would even dare to tell him that, he didn’t have a death wish. He had always seen him sitting or he was too busy hiding his growing blush to even notice. By the time Eren reached him, Levi had ended his phone conversation and seemed completely absorbed in his cigarette. The way he held it made Eren wonder if he liked smoking in the first place or if it was a habit for him. He held it as far away from his body as possible and every time he sucked it a form of aversion appeared in his face, as if what he did disgusted him.

When he finally reached him he tried to draw his attention by coughing. It didn’t seem to work though. Either he didn’t hear him, which he really doubted, or he just did it on purpose to tease him. Eren could even bet on it.    
  
Scratching the back of his neck, Eren awkwardly moved a step closer, placing himself right next to Levi and waited, just like he had done that night at the coffee shop.  
  
“Is that a habit of yours? Towering over people and not letting them enjoy a breath of fresh air?”

Eren frowned for only a second before letting himself relax a little. He could get used to Levis grumpy nature and snappy comebacks. “Fresh? You’re smoking!”.

“Nice observational skills, brat. Those pretty little eyes of yours aren’t just for show after all”.

 _Pretty little...what?_. Eren opened his mouth to complain, only to shut it again with a huff. At least his reaction seemed to entertain Levi, who had turned his head towards him, looking at him with the slightest smirk playing on his lips.  
  
“Don’t let people get under your skin so easily, kid”, he spoke softly, “Or maybe is it just me…?” he questioned, quirking a pierced eyebrow at him.

“H-Hah! You wish”, Eren strived to keep his voice as steady as possible, finding it surprisingly easier to keep a casual conversation without stuttering or blushing like a high schooler.  
  
“Ooh, look who decided to grow a pair”.

“Well, you can’t grow what you already have”.   
  
“Mmhm..”, Levi murmured, taking a big drag from his cigarette, almost finishing it. He let out the smoke slowly before turning his eyes back to Eren.  
  
Eren pushed his lips into a thin line, stealing a glimpse with the corner of his eye. He thought about leaving, maybe he was bothering the guy. He couldn’t really tell. Then again he hadn't sent him away, right? At least not yet. “I just wanted to say thanks, you know... for earlier today. You kind of saved my ass. Big time”.  
  
“Consider it a thank you for the other night. We are even now.”

Eren just nodded in response and looked at the direction of the restaurant. _What’s taking her so long…?_ He let out a sigh, eyeing Levi carefully. The look in his eyes was as cryptic as ever and it frustrated Eren to the core. He had so many questions he wanted to ask that he felt he could burst at any second now. After some time of consideration he finally decided to go with easiest one.  “That reminds me… how’s your eye?”  
  
“Huh?”. Eren’s question seemed to shake him from own thoughts. He didn’t expect to catch him off guard. He thought the guy had a permanent wall around him and that nothing could get past it without his permission.   
  
“Err…”, he pointed at his own right eye, “Your eye...”.  

“Oh, that? It’s fine”. The tone in Levi’s voice was almost surprised, as if getting asked after his well being was unfamiliar to him. Nevertheless, he made sure to cover it pretty quick. After taking the last drag of his cigarette, he threw the butt on the ground and stepped on it with the heel of his combat boot. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’ll live”.  
  
“Not for long though... If you continue like that then you’ll have lung cancer knocking on your door soon enough”.   
  
“Well nobody lives forever. At least I will go down enjoying the ride”.

“That’s one way to see it I guess.”

“That’s the only way to see it”.  
  
The finality in Levi’s words made Eren frown and look at him with almost sad eyes. “There is always an alternative. There are two sides to every coin, you know…”.

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire”.   
  
Eren looked up at the night sky for a moment, contemplating Levi’s words. _How well you walk through the fire, huh..?_ Maybe he was right, life was short to not let yourself enjoy it to the fullest. Didn’t everyone say to live each day like it’s your last one afterall? Sure, he enjoyed staying home sketching, watching a movie or two with Mikasa or even hanging out with Armin and the others. Was he even happy though? Eren shook his head as if to get rid of those unpleasant thoughts. “I think I’ve heard that from somewhere. It’s that alcoholic poet, right?”.

Levi nodded, deep in thought. “Bukowski”.  
  
“Yeah him…”, Eren’s voice was almost a whisper. Minutes passed with neither of the them speaking. The silence was comforting, but Eren, afraid for the first time to let himself get lost in his thoughts, spoke again. “Levi… Can I ask you something?”. It was the first time he said his name out loud. He couldn’t deny that liked the way it felt on his tongue.

“How do you know my name?”. The change is his tone from soft to sharp was so sudden that Eren became instantly alert.

“I-um… I saw it written on your test. Sorry”.

“Oh…”. Levi leaned back, his eyebrows still furrowed.

“Well, I appreciate you telling me the answers, but I was wondering… Why didn’t you write them, since you knew them all?”. Eren approached the subject cautiously, as if he was walking on broken glass.

“Hasn’t anyone told you that you ask too many questions, brat?”. Maybe it was Eren’s imagination or Levi was indeed leaning slightly closer to him. He could hear his heartbeat like a drum in his ear.

“Eren! Sorry to make you wait again.” Mikasa’s voice shook both of them, looking rather frustrated. “The line was huge, because there was an old lady that wanted to change her baby’s diaper in the sink. I mean, talk about manners! Oh!”. Only then did she notice Levi staring at her. “Hi! Are you a friend of Eren’s?”.

“No”. Levi said it as a matter of fact, pushing himself off the wall. Eren felt the disappointment like a stab in the heart. He just hopped that it wasn’t written all over his face. “I just helped him cheat on a test”.    
  
“WHAT?”, Mikasa looked scandalized.

“Oh, don’t look so shocked! As if you don’t know me!”

“Fair enough. Well, we’d better get a move on if we want to catch the next train”. She took Eren’s hand and started walking towards the end of the street. “It was nice meeting you”, she called to Levi behind her shoulder.

“Yeah, whatever. Have fun with your girlfriend, Eren”.   
  
Eren didn’t have time to deny that comment, because a car crossed the road between them and Levi. When it left, he realised with a pang of pain that Levi was gone.

“Eren? Why are you standing there? We’re gonna miss it”.

“Y-Yeah… Coming”. He started towards Mikasa and fell into step beside her. He couldn’t help but glance behind his shoulder, desperately hoping to see Levi.

 

* * *

 

The road back home was surprisingly more silent than they expected, considering how talkative they seemed over their lunch. Eren didn’t bother questioning Mikasa’s odd behaviour, he was too far lost in his own mind.

“You think he’s back?”. Mikasa was the first to break the silence as they reached their porch.   
  
He didn’t have to ask Mikasa to whom she was referring. Checking his clock Eren replied softly, hand on the doorknob, “Don’t know, I hope not”. He opened the door with a sigh. Thankfully for them, the house was empty.

“I’m gonna watch a movie or something, so I’ll be in my room”, Eren mumbled as he started to make his way towards his bedroom. He quickly changed clothes, while waiting for his laptop to boot. It seemed like a rather long day and all he wanted to do was lay on his bed and relax. He had hardly sat down when he heard a knock on the door.  
  
“Umm Eren..?”, Mikasa peeked through the door hesitantly before entering, making look up and take his earphones off.   
  
“What’s up?”, he questioned with a frown, sitting up on his bed. Mikasa’s behaviour during their return home seemed strange enough to him. She was always willing to talk with him, they weren’t spending much time together after all. But there was something in her tone, something that made Eren uneasy.

“How do you know that guy?”. She didn’t hesitate that time.  
  
“He…”, Eren paused for a moment feeling confused. _Did she know Levi?_ “He’s in my university. Besides, he already told you, didn’t he?”.   
  
Mikasa sighed and took a seat next him, their shoulders touching. “That’s not quite what I meant”. There was a long pause. “I don’t like him, Eren”.

Eren couldn’t say that he wasn’t taken aback. “What are you talking about? You don’t even know the guy!”, he said quite loudly, feeling a sudden urge to defend Levi, not entirely sure if it was the right thing to do.   
  
“This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen him, Eren... I saw him the other day getting into an intense fight with some guy over a few dollars”. She paused for a moment, “He doesn’t seem to hang out with…”, she paused as if to find the suitable word, “with the right people. I just don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire”. Her voice was mild. She sounded just like his mother would and that made Eren extremely angry for some reason. Happy place. Happy place.

“Well, you know what? I’m not a little kid anymore! I am completely capable of taking care of myself”.   
  
“I kno-”,    
  
He cut her off quickly. “Please Mikasa, trust me, okay?”. His voice got softer. He didn’t like fighting with her.  
  
“I will kick his ass if you get hurt you know”, she sighed and gave up, deciding to let it go for now. “I had imagined him a bit taller though”.  
  
“Huh?”

“Oh, come on Eren… I know he is Levi”, she gave him a smile, “I mean the way you were looking at him… Can you feel the loove toniiight”.  
  
Eren’s eyes widen in horror, while his cheeks turned into a nice shade of pink “No, don’t you dare, stop!”, he said, shutting his ears to block the sound of her off-key-voice.   
  
Mikasa could only laugh in return. “But you’ve got to admit he’s a bit short…”  
  
Eren couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. “Yeah, he is…”. He felt himself relax a little, though he knew that that conversation wasn’t even close to an end.  
  
Their laughs echoed through the empty house when a loud bang from the entrance made them jump in surprise. They looked into each other’s eyes, knowing what would follow.   
  
“-REN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?”. His father’s drunken voice was slow, but its force had Eren shivering within seconds.  
  
“I will take care of it, go to your room okay?”. He tried his best to hide the panic from his voice.  
  
“The hell I am!”   
  
“Mikasa, just do as I say. He is calling for me not you”.   
  
“I’m won’t! Eren he will-”  
  
Eren closed his eyes for a second, hearing his father’s heavy footsteps getting closer.   
  
“EREN! YOU LITTLE FAGGOT”.  
  
“Please… Don’t make this any more difficult that it already is. I’ll be fine”.   
  
Mikasa bit her lip and swallowed hard before exiting Eren’s room.

“Just…. Be on your guard. If you need anything yell and I’ll come. Okay?”.   
  
Eren nodded, pushing her forward, so as for her not to come into any contact with his dangerously drunk father. When he made sure she was safe in her room, he took a deep breath and turned to face him.

 


	4. Cold Hands, Warm Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Eren and Grisha's fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We want to thank everyone for their support and hope that you like our new chapter XD Please comment if you like it because your comments made us jump around like idiots.

 

“Man, you should have seen his face. I swear he was about to shit his pants”.   
  
“Something like you on your first day you mean?”.   
  
“Jerk, shut the fuck up, you were no better”.   
  
“I’m always better. I’m a natural.”  
  
“Natural my ass, you scare most of the them away. Why do you always have to use a freaking knife? We don’t want the cops up ur asses again”.   
  
“Fucker, make as much as I do and then come and talk to me… Man, this beer is shit” the man groaned, throwing a now empty can on the floor near the garbage.  
  
“It tastes like piss”, another voice replied and multiple sounds of agreement erupted around the small  room.  
  
“Yo! Levi, what got you so quiet?”. The man wrapped his hand around his neck to get his attention. “Not getting any lately?”.  
  
“I’m not you, Τhomas. Getting my dick sucked is not my number one priority”, Levi replied monotonously easily getting away from his headlock.   
  
“Mmm… so you’re telling me that you haven’t sticked your dick in that boy’s ass by now? You know... the pretty one with the green eyes”. The man cracked a sly smile, as the others around burst into a controlled laugh, knowing how easily Levi could have the boy.   
  
Levi didn’t have to reply. The glare of his narrowed eyes was more than enough to shut every mouth in the room and make Thomas’s smirk disappear in seconds. Even though Levi was one of the most recent members of their little “gang”, no one was insane enough to talk back to him.   
  
They were a small group of people whose misfortunes and bad luck brought them together. Levi, as most of them, didn’t have another choice but to keep stick around them, even though he didn’t agree with their view on life. They weren’t necessarily involved in any serious crimes, only just illegal enough to ensure their survival.   
  
“So… how much did we make today?”. Isabell, a young girl a year or two younger than Levi, decided to break the ice. She was always sweet and cheerful, even though life wasn’t anywhere near as nice to her. With her mother dying in labor and with an abusive father her downfall was ensured. If it weren’t for Farlan who found her sleeping on a bench just a little more than a week since she had left home, she would have been as good as dead. He tended to her wounds and gave her a place to stay and since then the two were inseparable.

“Just a little more than a hundred bucks…”. Farlan answered, “so… about seventeen dollars each.” He scratched his head looking at the money in his hands with disappointment, wondering how would it be like to own that much money.

Soon everyone in the room started to exchange goodbyes after collecting their share. Levi put the money in the pocket of his leather jacket. He light up another cigarette on his way down, exiting the abandoned building that was usually used for their meetings.   
  
“Yeah… See ya”. He heard Farland's brittle voice near the entrance.   
  
With a click of his tongue he quickened his step and called after the boy. “Hey”.  
  
“ Yes?”. The blond stopped in his track and turned.

Levi caught up to him and with a sigh he held his share of money in front of the young man. “Here, take them. You need it more than I do”.  
  
Farlan’s eyes widened and hesitated looking up at him. “I…”.  
  
“I know about your little sister”, Levi explained, taking his hand and shoving the money in his palm. “Fucking take them, you’re wasting my time”.  
  
He didn’t argue again and tightened the money in his fist. “Thanks”, he gave him a small smile.  
  
“Don’t get used to it”.  

 

* * *

 

 

Unfortunately the weather had started to worsen and so he quickened his step, pulling his jacket tighter. He blew into his already freezing hands, trying to keep them warm. God, how he hated the cold! Sometimes he just wanted to transform into a bird. That way he could just fly to another place, somewhere warm. Just like a swallow would. He craved the warmth of a fireplace. Actually, any kind of warmth would be welcomed by him.

He aimlessly walked around the deserted streets, wanting to delay the moment he would have to return home. Every now and then he would come across a couple holding hands or a mother with her child chatting merrily and would contemplate on how alone he felt. He liked being on his own, reading or listening to music. He was completely fine with it. But in times like these, he realised that although he fancied being alone, he didn’t like being lonely.  

Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. _Erwin_. The cold had started to become unbearable, so he set course to one of the few places he knew he was always welcomed.  

He had met Erwin in high school. The reason why suddenly the child prodigy Erwin would come and talk to him was one of the many things that Levi would never be able to answer. He was reserved at first, sometimes even rude. He had grown to despise those rich boys who had everything and not enough at the same time. Erwin seemed to have it all; brains, looks and money. Levi had nothing. Erwin’s future was basically led out in front of him and all he had to do was grasp it. It would be natural that he wouldn’t associate with people like Levi who could jeopardise it. That was why Levi was so puzzled when Erwin started talking to him.  

Over the years they had become even closer. Levi couldn’t even remember how many times Erwin had gotten him out of his own messes, never asking anything in return. But the thing that Levi appreciated the most was that Erwin never judged him. He knew that he didn’t approve of Levi’s company, but that never seemed to be the reason for him to give up on him.

Erwins place wasn’t that far from here, but the cold made him wish he had his car with him. Unfortunately, it had broken down a week ago and he wasn’t able to save the money to repair it. He was heading towards the upper part of town. He could already notice the difference in architecture. Just as he was about to pass the bridge that lead to the other side of the town he noticed a figure standing dangerously close to the ledge. He looked at it, intrigued, and wondered what the person had been through in order for this to be his only hope of salvation.

He contemplated going over there and talking to him, but he looked at himself and decided against it. What could he have to tell to the person that would make him want to cling to life? He would be lying to say that he had never thought of it too. His life had always been a mess, but he swore never to give up again and make the most out of it. He sighed and turned the other direction. _One less bastard in this fucked up word,_ he thought bitterly as he passed the road. He had only managed to take a few steps before stopping. “Fuck me...”, he muttered and turned around, making his way towards the bridge once again. He was still too far away to make out the person’s details. As he got closer, it seemed to him like something had changed. It didn’t take him long to realise that there something awfully familiar about the figure.

“No…”, he mumbled, not believing what he was seeing, and started running towards the person.

His breath was coming out in frantic pants as he sprinted to the bridge. _No, no, don’t give up, brat!_

Eren didn’t seemed to have noticed him and continued looking at the river passing swiftly below him. His hands were gripping at the railing behind him, but his body seemed to be leaning more and more towards the edge.

“EREN!”. He didn’t realise he was screaming Eren’s name until his voice got hoarse.

Eren turned his head towards Levi’s side. His eyes seemed dead to the world, as if they had lost the sparkle that made Levi intrigued. He blankly stared at him, not recognising him.  
  
The first thing Levi did when he managed to reach Eren was to grab his forearm, stopping Eren from whatever he was thinking of doing. “You shitty brat! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”. His voice came out in small pants, leaving small huffs caused from the cold. The emotion in his tone was something that surprised even himself.  
  
Eren kept staring at him. From up close, Levi could see that his eyes were red and puffy. His cheeks were wet and there were glisters upon them.  
  
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not worth it, kid”, Levi spoke softly, his eyes never leaving Eren’s as if he was afraid to look away.

“L-Levi… W-What are you doing here? I-It’s not what you think”, Eren stuttered, suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings.

“The hell it is!” Levi spat. “Why else would you be hanging off the fucking railing? Are you having a tea party?”. He realised he was furious and the worst part was that he didn’t know who with.

Eren tore his eyes off Levi’s. “It’s not what you think”, he repeated softly.

Levi left a defeated sigh and looked up at the starry sky. “Don’t pretend like you know what I think, brat”.   
  
Eren kept looking at the river. Due to the lack of moon, the night was so dark that it was not visible to them. The only thing that gave away its presence was the constant hissing of the running water.

“Are you done? My ass is freezing. Come, we’re leaving”.

Eren kept staring down, as if he hadn’t heard him. Levi was about to repeat himself when Eren gave the slightest nod. He turned slowly and grabbed Levi’s outstretched hand. Only then did Levi realise that Eren was trembling. He couldn’t distinguish if the trembling was caused by the cold or the emotional shock.

Levi acted on his instincts; he tightened his grip on Eren’s hand, pushed him forward to safety and wrapped his arms around him. He felt Eren tense against him, but it wasn’t long before Eren loosened up completely and bursted into tears.

Eren couldn’t seem to be able to stop his tears. He buried his face on Levi’s neck.  His sobs made it difficult for him to breathe and every time he managed to inhale a gulp of cold air, he could smell tobacco, soap and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but was closely connected with Levi.

“It’s okay. Get it out of your system”. His one hand was rubbing Eren’s back in steady circles while the other was wrapped around his waist for support. He could still feel him shivering against him and tightened his arms in response. They stayed in that position for several minutes until Eren’s sobs seemed to finally calm down. Levi’s hands didn’t let go just yet though. He held him there giving him some time to recover and collect himself. It was only when he felt a deep shaky breath escaping Eren’s lips that he loosened his grip and took a step back. He sat down on the edge of the bridge with his legs hanging out in the void and his hands hugging the railing in front of him. Eren wiped his tears and did the same.

For a little while none of them spoke. They sat like that in the cold and stared down at the black waters. A silence spread around them. People always think they have to talk to cover the silence. They can’t bear it. Eren didn’t share that point of view. He welcomed the silence, he embraced it. It made him feel at peace with himself. He got really uncomfortable when he couldn’t hear his own thoughts. He felt like choking. But with Levi, it was different. Neither of them seemed to feel that they had to cover the silence between them. It wasn’t awkward. It was soothing. It reminded him of what his mother used to say. That’s when you know when you’ve found someone special. When you can sit back and enjoy the silence.

“Aren’t-”. Eren coughed in order to get rid of the coarseness of his voice and continued, “aren’t you gonna ask me why I did it? Or lecture me?”.

“Nope. You didn’t ask me any questions either”. Levi was now looking at the stars, avoiding Eren’s turquoise eyes to give them privacy.

The younger man smiled sadly and looked at Levi. The latter was fumbling with the pocket of his skinny jeans until he found what he was looking for; a black zippo. He light up a cigarette and took a big drag, as if he hadn’t smoked in a good while. He released the smoke out of his nostrils slowly and stared at it until it evaporated into the darkness.

Eren kept looking at the man beside him. His eyesight was still blurry from crying, but he could make out his features and found them to be more composed than usual. Levi would have probably thought that Eren was about to jump off the bridge. _Is he mad at me?_ , Eren thought sourly.

_Well, he is not the only one..._

 

* * *

 

“EREN! YOU LITTLE FAGGOT!”.

Eren was halfway down the stairs when he came face to face with his father.

“You called?”, he asked calmly, used to his father’s drunk mood.

“BRING ME SOMETHING TO EAT AND FAST!” Grisha demanded as he flopped on the couch.  
  
Eren sighed and retreated to the kitchen. He was about to open the oven to take yesterday’s food out when he changed his mind and he headed towards the coffee machine.

“What the fuck is this?”, his father spat when Eren placed a big mug of coffee in front of him. “This ain’t no food! Take it back and bring me something edible!”.

“Drink this and then I’ll give you something. You need to sober up first”.   
  
“Don’t tell me what to do. I’m your father and you must do as I say!”. His father’s voice was raising once again. He bend down to take the mug of the table when his father gripped his wrist tightly. “Why do you never listen to me? Why do you NEVER do as I say?”. His voice was quieter now and Eren could hear the trembling that shook his whole body as well. Grisha covered his face with his one hand, the other still around Eren’s.

“Dad…?” Eren said, trying to calm his father down. He had never seen his like this. He usually yelled at him for a while and then he would fall asleep, being exhausted. Rarely would he raise a hand to hit him.

Grisha pulled his hand off his face and turned to Eren. His eyes were red and full of something else that Eren had never seen before in his father’s face; pure animosity. “You… You never listened to me! I told you not to go”. Grisha’s grip on Eren’s wrist tightened so much that Eren thought it would snap. “IT WAS YOUR FAULT!”. He was suddenly yelling at his son.

Eren just stood there, not being able to breathe, much less move. He knew what his father was talking about. He closed his eyes, dreading his father’s next words. “No… don’t”, he wanted to say, to cut him off before he could say it, but he couldn’t find his voice.

“YOU KILLED HER!”, he yelled, choking on his now more frequent sobs. He abruptly stood up and starting shaking Eren violently. “You took her away from me”, he hissed and shoved Eren away from him. Then, without any hint of strength left, he fell on his knees and started sobbing.  
  
Eren was rooted down on the same spot, trying to ignore the familiar sting in his eyes. He took a few shaky breaths before summoning the courage to move his feet and dash out of the house.

 

* * *

 

  
Eren shook his head to clear it from the unpleasant memories that kept surfacing.  He didn’t realise that he had starting crying again until he felt the wetness of his tears on his cheeks. He dried them off with his sleeve and turned to Levi who was still absorbed in his cigarette

“Thanks for being here”, he whispered and smiled weakly when Levi turned to look at him. It was the first time his eyes captured Eren’s since he had gotten the younger man to safety. Eren appreciated the fact that Levi gave him that form of privacy so that he could cry and not be embarrassed.

Levi just shrugged and threw the butt of his cigarette. “I’m about to catch pneumonia here.  Are you okay if we go now?”.

“Yeah, let’s go”.

They stood up and made their way back to the street.

Levi was a few paces ahead when he turned and said “Where to, brat? I’ll walk you home”.  
  
Eren seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. “Actually, I was thinking about crashing over a friend’s tonight…”. There was no way Eren would go back home, at least for the time being. He wanted to be as far away as possible from his father so Armin seemed his best option right now.

“It’s two o'clock in the morning. Are you seriously telling me that you’re gonna call someone right now?”. Eren did his best to avoid Levi’s inquiring gaze. “Look, kid. If you don’t want to go home, that’s fine. It’s none of my business. But no way in hell am I leaving you alone after that. You can crash at my place”.

“N-No, I don’t want to be a burden to you! I’ll-”.

“It wasn’t a question. I’m not gonna repeat myself. You can either come or stay here and freeze your arse off. Got it?”.

Eren contemplated on the two options and nodded, accepting Levi’s offer. He fell into step with him and concentrated on their feet.  
  
“I will leave first thing in the morning I promise”.  
  
Levi rolled his eyes. “I don’t bite…”, he paused “...usually”. Eren could almost hear his smile. It made him forget why they were out walking in the middle of the night in the first place.

 

* * *

 

“Heater’s off, so you’ll have to make do with blankets. Lots of them. If you’re still cold, you’ll have to get creative”.

Eren was standing in the middle of Levi’s apartment. It was quite small, consisting of only three rooms;  living room and kitchen, a bathroom and Levi’s bedroom. Its most interesting factor though was the fireplace, though It didn’t seem like it was used.

The building was several years old, something that was clearly visible in the walls and windows. The thing that surprised Eren most though was the state in which it was in. He had assumed that Levi, like most university students living alone, would not bother with cleaning, due to the time it required. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Everything was spotlessly clean and Eren was sure that, even if he tried, he would not find one single speck of dust. He felt the sudden urge to take off his muddy shoes.

“What are you staring at, brat? Not big enough for your tastes?”.

“N-No! It’s just that… Well, I’d have never taken you for a clean freak”.

“Who did you call a freak, freak?”. He turned to Eren, but the moment he saw the younger boy smiling goofily he added, “Anyway, make yourself at home, I will be right back. I need a shower.” He was about to leave when he stopped to take a good look at Eren. “You know what, you’ll take shower first. I won’t have you getting your filthy paws on my furniture”.

Levi went to the stereo next to the fireplace and put a cd on. Soft music filled the room. It was a male singer, one that was completely unknown to Eren. Levi turned to the brunette and noticed that the latter was still shivering a bit.

“Are you cold?”. The younger one nodded. “Okay. I’m going to prepare the bath for you so that you can warm up”. He went to the bathroom and turned the hot water on. Eren by that point was shivering violently.   
  
“There are clean towels in the cupboard across the sink and I left a change of clothes in there too. Now go get cleaned and don’t make a mess”.

Eren closed the door and undressed in swift movements. He got inside the bath and almost moaned in pleasure when the hot water touched his freezing body. The first moments he could nothing else but stay motionless and let the water warm him. Then, thinking about how mad Levi was going to be if he wasn’t completely clean, he started to soap himself with lazy movements.

By the time Eren got out of the bathtub, the water was lukewarm. He took some clean towels and did his best to dry himself without making a huge mess, in which he totally failed. He looked around for the clean clothes and saw a neatly folded pair of black sweatpants and a black hoodie than Levi had left him. He took the pants and blushed when a pair of black boxers fell on the floor. He got dressed and smiled mischievously when he realised that the pants were a bit short on his ankles.

Several minutes later Eren was back in the living room, holding his dirty clothes in a messy pile. “Ummm… Where should I put these?”.  
  
“Leave them in the bathroom”, he heard Levi’s voice coming from the kitchen.   
  
Quickly Eren placed his clothes back in the bathroom and made his way towards the kitchen. He spotted Levi leaning against the counter as he waited for the microwave to finish. “Thought you were hungry”, he explained as soon as he saw Eren standing rather awkwardly in the middle of the room. He let his eyes trail over the boy’s body, appreciating the fact that his clothes were at least two sizes too small for him.

Eren felt himself blush and tried to look anywhere but the man in front of him, but failed miserably. Thankfully he was saved by the beeping of the microwave that seemed to take Levi’s attention off him. Eren sat on one of the two chairs in the kitchen as Levi brought over a bowl of soup and placed it in front of him.

“Thanks”, he mumbled, realising how hungry he was. He expected Levi to bring another bowl for himself, but instead he just sat across from him, hands on his chin. Eren picked up the spoon and tried the soup. He hadn’t realised how hot it was until the minute his tongue touched it. His first instinct would be to spit it, but since Levi was sitting less than a meter away from him, he did his best to swallow it. He coughed and dried the tears that had managed to escape his eyes.

Levi raised a pierced eyebrow and shook his head in defeat. “Hasn’t your mother taught you how to eat? Were you raised in a barn or something?”.

Eren’s jaw clenched and let go of the spoon. “ I kill-..” he paused and closed his eyes. “She’s dead”. He cleared his throat, avoiding Levi’s eyes.   
  
Levi frowned. For the first time in his life he felt like he had nothing to say. None of them spoke for a little while. Then Levi stood up and went to the living room. Eren stayed in his seat, not knowing what to do with himself.

“You planning on staying there the whole night?”, Levi’s voice came from the other room.

Eren stood up at that and, after placing the half empty bowl in the sink, he made his way to the living room. Levi was sitting in front of the now blazing fireplace trying to warm his body.   
  
“I thought you never used it”, Eren spoke as he got closer and took a seat on the couch across from him. “I mean it looked like it was rarely used before”.  
  
“If you freeze to death on my couch it would only cause more problems for me”.

Eren let out a chuckle, but the smile didn’t spread to his eyes. He stood there listening to the constant sizzling of the fire mingled with the music Levi had chosen.

“I got some blankets for you next to the pillows”. He stated and turned his eyes to look at him. “ Oi and if you snore I’m kick-” Levi didn’t get to finish his sentence because Eren was already asleep.   
  
He took a blanket and spread it over Eren’s body. He noticed how peaceful Eren’s sleeping face was, the crease between his eyes was now gone, making him seem younger than he already was. Suddenly, a light snore come from Eren’s mouth and Levi couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “You shitty brat”, he murmured under his breath and retreated to the bathroom to wash the dirty mess he was sure the brunette had created.

 


End file.
